Resource Category: Project Reports

Over the next several decades, the climate in
Canadian forests will shift northward at a rate that
will likely exceed the ability of individual tree species
to migrate. While most tree species can migrate naturally up to a few hundred metres per year via seed
dispersal, the climatic conditions in which each species
thrives may move north by several thousand metres
per year. Canada’s forests are home to well over
100 species of trees, of which 93 are commercially
important. Canada’s tree species are vulnerable to
climate change because trees are sensitive to climate,
and there is now little doubt that significant climate
change will continue over the next century.

The authors would like to acknowledge the funding from the Prairie Adaptation Research
Collaborative and Natural Resources Canada (Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation
Directorate) in support of the research project Nikan Oti: Future – Understanding Adaptation
and Adaptive Capacity in two First Nation. Additional funding support came from the
Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre.

This research was financially supported by a grant from Natural Resources Canada under
the Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Program (CCIAP). This support is gratefully
acknowledged, along with the regional support of the Prairie Adaptation Research
Collaborative (PARC). The research has also benefited from in-kind contributions from
the National Water Research Institute (NWRI, Environment Canada) and the University of
Saskatchewan.

We are grateful for the contributions of various project partners and research assistants.
Jeff Weir, Vegetation Management Specialist with Prince Albert National Park, provided
data and very much facilitated field work to collect lake sediments and tree rings. The
Parks Branch of Saskatchewan Environment provided a research permit for the collection
of the lake sediment in Narrow Hills Provincial Park. Prince Albert National Park
provided a research permit, personnel, and logistical support for the collection of the lake
sediment core from North Flat Lake. In the eastern Qu’Appelle Valley, we sampled trees
on the property of the Devon Farm and Giles Norek. The Saskatchewan Forest Centre
hosted the two stakeholder workshops.

The authors would like to acknowledge the funding from the Prairie Adaptation Research
Collaborative and Natural Resources Canada (Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation
Directorate) in support of the research project Isi Wipan – Climate: Identifying the
impacts of climate change and capacity for adaptation in two Saskatchewan First Nation
communities. Additional funding support came from the Indigenous Peoples Health
Research Centre.

In the summer of 1972, my mentor and colleague, Prof. Gunnar Østrem, was leading a
UNESCO-sponsored mission to Argentina to instruct engineers and hydrologists on the
principles and methods of glacier mass balance measurements and the study of glacier
hydrology. During one of their many field excursions to the front ranges of the Andes
above Mendosa, they came upon a small village whose people made their livelihood from
the production of grapes. The villagers drew water from a stream that had its source in
the alpine, where one distinct valley glacier had been present.

This study is funded and managed by the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC). Established in 2000
from the Government of Canada’s Climate Change Action Fund, PARC is an interdisciplinary research network
established to research the potential impacts of climate change on the Canadian Prairie Provinces and develop
appropriate adaptation strategies.

Given that some impacts of climate warming are being observed across Canada (the
current drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan being only one example), and that climate model
projections indicate larger, systematic changes occurring within the next 50-100 years,
sustainable management of Canada’s forest resources will need to take the effects of such
changes into account.

The authors would like to acknowledge the funding from the Prairie Adaptation Research
Collaborative and the Natural Resources Canada Science and Technology Internship
Program. The Canadian Forest Service and the University of Alberta made considerable
in-kind contributions to this undertaking. Valuable technical web based support was
provided by Jon Elofson, Northern Forestry Centre Webmaster. We are particularly
indebted to the efforts of our intern, Laurie Wein.

The authors would like to acknowledge the funding from the Prairie Adaptation Research
Collaborative and the Natural Resources Canada Science and Technology Internship
Program. The Canadian Forest Service and the University of Alberta made considerable
in-kind contributions to this undertaking. Valuable technical web based support was
provided by Jon Elofson, Northern Forestry Centre Webmaster. We are particularly
indebted to the efforts of our intern, Laurie Wein.